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End of the school year

Well we are within two weeks of school being out and my sons teacher just came to me and stated she feels that he should be retained. She is concerned because of the star reading test. He scored a 2.8 when they tested in Feb and when they tested him at the end of April he was at a 2.5. I tried to talk with her about the fact that he wasn't reading books that were at the 2.8 level and she responded by saying that has nothing to do with it. The thing is that he tested low at christmas and we insisted on him reading books that were in that upper reading level and he jumped a whole grade level. When he has tried picking out the books that were in that 2.8 level he was getting told no. We are having a meeting with her this week and we are going to let her know that we are not retaining him. She also told me some other things that i feel she should have told us months ago. If you were in my shoes what would u do

the deal is when i work with him here at home he does the work just fine. We are going to work with him over the summer and get him as ready as we can for third grade.

Answer by
Anonymous
at 3:14 PM on May. 8, 2010

If you honestly feel that your son is capable of reading at the level he previously tested at then don't hold him back. If you agree with the teacher and feel that he has some delays in reading the consider summer school or holding him back. You have to decide what is best for your child. You know what kind of reading capabilities he has. If that means holding him back to boost his score then do so. Don't let the teacher bully you, because in all honesty (from what I read) it sounds like he has the ability to read at a higher level. He might just be taking the easy route, but I think if he scored high once then he can score again. And a 2.8 and a 2.5 don't sound that different to me. Though I don't know the 'grading score' like you do.

You do what you feel is best for your child. Talk to your child see what they think about it and go from there.

Depending on how old he is and what grade we are talking about, I would hold him back. If he is not at the level the teacher feels she should be for next year it will just be harder and harder with each passing year. My kids are in middle and high school and it really is important that they get a good foundation in the early grades. Please think about what the teacher has to say before you make a choice.

i would not hold him back and then during the summer go to the library or buy him books that he is interested in maybe try and challenge him with some harder chapter books with stories he'll be interested in he may just not enjoy reading because he has to read about things he doesn't care about and i would forget about whether the book is educational or not just anything that will hold his attention a lot of times teachers try and select books based on the class or something to cover as many students intrests as possible he may just not fall into a general student category right now it's more important to get him to enjoy what he is reading then it is to read what is necessary for school

You should be able to work with him over the summer. See if your library has a summer reading program. I wouldn't hold him back because it will affect the friendships that he has developed over the past couple of years with the kids in his grade. Even though the kids will still go to the same school, he will have to start from scratch, and that can be hard. At worst, if you make a mistake in letting him advance and he has a hard time next year, you can always hold him back next year. Good luck!!!

Answer by
Anonymous
at 4:37 PM on May. 8, 2010

my SD is finishing third grade now. her first Star Reading test she tested REALLY low at the beginning of the year. I think it was 1.5 Since she is my SD and at that time, BM was being difficult, I wasn't able to work withher. She has improved and all but she is not reading at the level she should be. She is probably in the 2.5 to 3.0 area now. And her teacher is not thinking of retaining her. Her confidence would be severly damaged if they did. Also, there if her reading is too low or there are too many issues they have intervention (Title I) reading groups. In 4th grade they have a thing called Read 180 where they help readers who arent at the level they would like. I do not know if she will be tested into Read 180 or not, but she has been out of intervention for most of the year.

I don't think a STAR reading level is enough to go off of for retention. She'd need to present a LOT more information than that where I teach. Usually a child below grade level ACROSS THE BOARD is a candidate for possible retention. If your son has been making progress(even if slowly) as the year goes on, I don't see why she would even consider retention. That's a BIG DEAL.

The teacher shouldn't be basing her decision on STAR reading. It's not designed to be a diagnostic assessment, but some teachers use it that way. I've seen kids gain 2 or more years taking the test later the same day. It's just not a reliable test.

What grade is he in? If he's in second grade a STAR score of 2.5 isn't really that far behind at all. Ask for a meeting with the teacher and an administrator or guidance counselor. Ask flat out why retention wasn't mentioned earlier. Ask what criteria besides STAR reading the teacher is basing her recommendationon. If they have other data that says your son is behind, support the retention. If not, fight it. Definitely make sure that someone else at that school knows the teachers is bringing this up this late in the year. It sounds like she dropped the ball with your son and is trying to cover her butt.

I would listen to the teacher and the concerns, then put her concerns in an e mail and send it to her. It would say " you noticed this .............. And met with us on this dates. I am considering your sugesstions and will get back to you soon.". Next I would spend the money for an outside independent source to evaluate my child in the areas of concern. Such a sillvan learning center. It could be an outside learning center may be able to assist with boosting my child's areas of concern or perhaps after an evaluation I might consider it would be benefitial for him to repeat a grade level. I would keep an open mind but I would include in my e mail that I am concerned it is only recently this issue was brought to my attention. That as a caring parent I need time to consider my child's options and make the best plan possible as a team. Now you cannot have his team all included.